Erin Yoshimura, left, and Gil Asakawa lead a bus trip to Camp Amache during the Japanese American National Museum conference in this July 6, 2008 file photo. The husband-and-wife team recently launched visualizAsian.com, a Web-based show that will feature interviews with AAPI role models who will share their journey to success. (Photo by Joe Nguyen/AsiaXpress.com)

Realization of visualizAsian.com

Launch of Colorado-based Web-show brings inspirational stories of prominent AAPIs online

By Joe Nguyen, AsiaXpress.com

May 19, 2009

Inspiration.

According to Erin Yoshimura and Gil Asakawa, inspirational stories involving members of the AAPI communities have been all but missing in the mainstream media.

“What it basically boils down to is that, yes, we’re invisible,” Yoshimura said. “And when we are visible, we’re often inaccurately portrayed. ... Instead of complaining, we decided to do something about it.”

The husband-and-wife team’s three-year dream culminates with the creation of visualizAsian.com, a Web-based show that will feature interviews with AAPI role models who will share their journey to success. The first show will feature former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 21.

“We can’t wait for the mainstream to promote everything we do as Americans,” Yoshimura said. “... So we need to do that ourselves – number one. And number two, we all should know about our leaders in our own communities.”

The couple has already lined up distinguished AAPI figures such as authors Phoebe Eng and Helen Zia, actress Tamlyn Tomita and “Survivor: Cook Islands” winner Yul Kwon. Asakawa said he sees the Web-show as an opportunity to educate AAPIs about prominent AAPI individuals.

“When you mention Vincent Chin to a young Asian American, a lot of them don’t know,” he said. “When you mention one of those (younger) performers ... to people our age, we don’t know. There’s this disconnect where none of us are in the mainstream or (are) covered by the mainstream media.”

Yoshimura agreed.

“One of (Phoebe Eng’s) greatest quotes that I use a lot is that ‘growing up in the U.S. is like looking in the mirror and not seeing your reflection,’” she said.

Ultimately, the founders hope that these interviews will encourage other AAPIs to follow in the footsteps of the show’s guests.

“We want them to see what they can become and to think outside the box,” Yoshimura said. “A lot of times we don’t think ... ‘Oh, I can do that, too.’”

The broadcast on May 21 will be a podcast. People who register can listen over the phone on a conference line or via a webcast on the site.

“To me it’s like the next evolution of talk radio,” Asakawa said. “We get interesting guests, we’ll talk to them, we’ll let the people ask questions, as well – it’ll be very interactive.”

Questions can be submitted before and during the interview.

For more information about visualizAsian.com or to register to listen to the interview, go to www.visualizAsian.com.